it is not the way of the tide of fortune to flow always in the same direction, but every day, as a rule, it is wont to change about.  In manliness it is our boast that we surpass the enemy, and that in numbers we are much superior; for we believe that we surpass them no less than tenfold.  And why shall I add that many and great are the incentives which, now especially, urge us on to valour, naming the glory of our ancestors and the empire which has been handed down to us by them?  For in our case that glory is obscured by our unlikeness to our kindred, while the empire is bent upon fleeing from us as unworthy.  And I pass over in silence the wails of these poor women and the tears of our children, by which, as you see, I am now so deeply moved that I am unable to prolong my discourse.  But having said this one thing, I shall stop,—­that there will be for us no returning to these most precious possessions if we do not gain the mastery over the enemy.  Remembering these things, shew yourselves brave men and do not bring shame upon the fame of Gizeric.”

After speaking such words, Gelimer commanded his brother Tzazon to deliver an exhortation separately to the Vandals who had come with him from Sardinia.  And he gathered them together a little apart from the camp and spoke as follows:  “For all the Vandals, fellow soldiers, the struggle is in behalf of those things which you have just heard the king recount, but for you, in addition to all the other considerations, it so happens that you are vying with yourselves.  For you have recently been victorious in a struggle for the maintenance of our rule, and you have recovered the island for the empire of the Vandals; there is every reason, therefore, for you to make still greater display of your valour.  For those whose hazard involves the greatest things must needs display the greatest zeal for warfare also.  Indeed, when men who struggle for the maintenance of their rule are defeated, should it so happen, they have not failed in the most vital part; but when men are engaged in battle for their all, surely their very lives are influenced by the outcome of the struggle.  And for the rest, if you shew yourselves brave men at the present time, you will thereby prove with certainty that the destruction[2] of the tyrant Godas was an achievement of valour on your part; but if you weaken now, you will be deprived of even the renown of those deeds, as of something which does not belong to you at all.  And yet, even apart from this, it is reasonable to think that you will have an advantage over the rest of the Vandals in this battle.  For those who have failed are dismayed by their previous fortune, while those who have encountered no reverse enter the struggle with their courage unimpaired.  And this too, I think, will not be spoken out of season, that if we conquer the enemy, it will be you who will win the credit for the greatest part of the victory, and all will call you saviours of the nation of the